This baguette recipe is easy to follow and will give you the delicious taste of France right from your kitchen.

Makes: 2 baguettes

Ingredients

400 g (14 oz) strong white bread flour

300 ml (10 fl oz) lukewarm water

2 tsp dried yeast

1½ tsp salt

Instructions

Place the water in a large bowl and add the yeast. Mix well and leave for about 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.

Mix together the flour and salt in a bowl.

Add half the flour into the water/yeast mixture to form a batter. Cover and leave in a warm place for about 3-4 hours until is becomes a bubbling mass.

Mix in the remaining flour to form what should be a slightly sticky dough. If your dough is too sticky keep mixing in handfuls of flour to achieve the correct consistency (see video).

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.

Put the dough in a lightly-greased bowl, cover and leave to rise until the dough has doubled in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knock it back. Divide the dough into 2 and make each piece into a ball.

Stretch a piece of dough out into a rectangle about 6" x 3" (15cm x 8cm). Fold up the bottom third, fold over the top third and press to seal the edges. Perform this step a total of 3 times per piece of dough. You may need to let the dough rest for a minute or two between each stretch to avoid tearing the dough.

Roll the dough out until it is about 30cm (12" long). Place in the grooves of a lightly-greased baguette tray OR fold a teatowel to make 2 grooves, flour well and place a piece of dough in each groove. Cover and leave the dough to rise for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 240°C (464°F) conventional/ 220°C (430°F) fan oven and place a tray of water in the bottom.

If you are using a teatowel transfer the risen dough to a baking tray.

Cut deep diagonal slashes into the bread and bake for 15-20 minutes until well browned.

Notes

The dough should be really soft and moist and flow very slowly if left alone.